Seoul — Nuclear-armed North Korea launched four ballistic missiles on Monday in another challenge to President Donald Trump, with three landing provocatively close to the US’s ally Japan. Seoul and Washington began annual joint military exercises last week that always infuriate Pyongyang, with the North’s military warning of "merciless nuclear counter-action". Under leader Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang has ambitions to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the US mainland — which Trump has vowed will not happen. Seoul said four missiles were fired from North Pyongan province into the East Sea — its name for the Sea of Japan — and that South Korea and the US were "closely analysing" tracking data for further details. The missiles travelled about 1,000km and reached an altitude of 260km, said a spokesperson for South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff, adding they were unlikely to be ICBMs. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said three of the North Korean missil...
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